After planting bulbs of the Daffodil February Gold last Autumn, I thought I was being rather optimistic in expecting them to live up to their title.
I have in the past seen some of the early varieties of Daffs blooming in late February here in Aberdeen, if planted in a sheltered sunny spot.
However, these ones which I planted in pots last Autumn were placed in our patio area,which, from the month of November until the end of February is completely void of sunshine.
February gold not only had to put up with full shade, but also had to show their strength in getting through a Winter which was to last right through until the twelfth of April.
The result is, here on the 13th of April, we finally have this delightful Narcissus giving us a marvelous show, looking out from the dining room on to the patio. It was not until the eighth of April that February Gold opened up its first bloom. Actually, I did speed up the opening of the blooms by placing the tubs in a sunny spot for three days, yes we did have three days in a row when the sun shone off and on, still flippin freezing though.
The preferred position for this Narcissus/Daffodil is of course full sun/partial shade. I think its always worth stretching the barriers at times, although in this case I would recommend a sunny spot.
The bright yellow blooms of February Gold have rather long narrow trumpets and outer petals which are slightly swept back. Its about 30cm/12″ tall growing slightly taller than this in our shady spot. They really are looking good and deserving of the prestigious award of garden merit received from The Royal Horticultural Society.
Unlike Tulips which we grow in pots and treat as annuals the Daffs get stored after dying back, and
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